Trigonopterus velaris Riedel

Riedel, Alexander, Sagata, Katayo, Surbakti, Suriani, Rene Taenzler, & Michael Balke,, 2013, One hundred and one new species of Trigonopterus weevils from New Guinea, ZooKeys 280, pp. 1-150 : 84-85

95. Trigonopterus velaris Riedel sp. n.

Diagnostic description.

Holotype, male (Fig. 95a). Length 2.45 mm. Color black; legs and rostrum deep ferruginous; antenna light ferruginous. Body laterally somewhat compressed, ovate, without constriction between pronotum and elytron; in profile evenly convex. Rostrum dorsally in basal third with low median ridge and pair of submedian ridges; apically subglabrous. Eyes large. Pronotum densely punctate-rugose, punctures dorsally small, laterally becoming larger, bearing each one minute seta; without scales. Elytra with striae distinct, punctures of stria 1-2 small, laterad strial punctures becoming larger, relatively shallow. Femora with anteroventral ridge. Profemur converging from base to apex. Meso- and metafemur with dorsoposterior edge subapically worn; metafemur subapically without stridulatory patch. Tibiae simple, without rows or brushes of long setae. Metatibia subapically with small suprauncal projection. Metaventrite laterally forming acute process over metacoxa, reaching tibial insertion. Metaventrite and abdominal ventrite 1 subglabrous, with sparse recumbent setae. Abdominal ventrite 2 similar to ventrites 3-4. Abdominal ventrite 5 with deep, transversely ovate cavity almost filling complete ventrite; anterior edge of cavity distinct, swollen. Aedeagus (Fig. 95b) apically sinuate, with deep narrow median incision; ductus ejaculatorius without bulbus. Intraspecific variation. Length 2.31-2.59 mm. Female rostrum subglabrous except in basal ¼ with ridges. Female abdominal ventrite 5 flat.

Material examined.

Holotype (SMNK): ARC0963 (EMBL # HE615596), PAPUA NEW GUINEA, Central Prov., Moroka area, Kailaki, Mt. Berogoro, S09°24.213', E147°33.870' to S09°23.647', E147°34.244', 500-600 m, 20-IX-2009, beaten. Paratypes (SMNK, NAIC, ZSM): PAPUA NEW GUINEA: 26 exx, ARC0962 (EMBL # HE615595), same data as holotype; 10 exx, Moroka area, Kailaki, Mt. Berogoro, S09°24.213', E147°33.870' to S09°23.647', E147°34.244', 500-565 m, 26-X-2009; 25 exx, Moroka area, Kailaki, Wariaga, S09°25.350', E147°31.047' to S09°25.683', E147°31.707', 650-920 m, 27-X-2009; 5 exx, ARC1079 (EMBL # HE615710), ARC1080 (EMBL # HE615711), Simbu Prov., Karimui Dist., Haia, S 06°41.553', E145°00.355' to S06°41.624', E145°00.728', 800-960 m, 25-IX-2009; 2 exx, ARC1165 (EMBL # HE615793), Simbu Prov., Karimui Dist., Haia, S06°41.216', E145°00.945' to S06°40.976', E145°00.979', 970-1135 m, 04-X-2009; 1 ex, Haia, S06°40.976', E145°00.979', 1135 m, sifted, 04-X-2009.

Distribution.

Central Prov. (Moroka), Simbu Prov. (Haia). Elevation: 600-1135 m.

Biology.

Collected by beating foliage in primary forests.

Etymology.

This epithet is based on the Latin adjective velaris (concealed) and refers to its morphological similarity with sibling species.

Notes.

Trigonopterus velaris Riedel, sp. n. was coded as " Trigonopterus sp. 272" by Tänzler et al. (2012). It is closely related to Trigonopterus granum sp. n., Trigonopterus pseudogranum sp. n., and Trigonopterus imitatus sp. n. from which it can be distinguished by the denser punctation of the pronotum and the structure of the male abdominal ventrite 5. Despite its close morphological similarity its cox1-sequence diverges 12.1-13.1 % from the other species.